[Here we have Turkey opening the door to the new Kyrgyz government, but in these days, we still don’t really know where the Turkish government actually stands, as it straddles the fence between east and west. Turkey and Russia are doing a strange and dangerous dance in Kyrgyzstan and throughout central Asia, opposing America’s Nabucco plans in Nagorno-Karabakh, infuriating the United States with counter-ideas on Georgia and Iran. We face a future marked by either momentous calamity, such as mankind has never witnessed, or else limitless opportunity for real meaningful change. The choice is for all mankind to make, not just for the twisted minds of the world’s elected leaders.]
Kyrgyz interim gov’t approves Turkey’s military aid
Kyrgyz interim leader Roza Otunbayeva (L) meets hands with EU Special Representative for Central Asia Pierre Morel (R) in Bishkek. AFP photo.
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Kyrgyzstan’s interim government approved on Friday a 2009 deal signed with Turkey to get military aid from Turkish Armed Forces, Anatolia News Agency reported.
Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov said that Kyrgyz government unanimously approved the agreement signed in December 2009. Turkey’s military aid is worth $800,000. Turkey’s military aid will go to Kyrgyz national guards and border units.
Meanwhile, a senior adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday that Washington will ensure greater transparency in the supply of aviation fuel to a key U.S. air base in Kyrgyzstan, where the previous government often was accused of corruption.
Perceived improprieties over a fuel supply deal with the Manas base, which Kyrgyz prosecutors believe financially benefited members of the recently ousted government, have severely dented the standing of the United States in the impoverished Central Asian nation.
Kyrgyz prosecutors say that companies owned by a son of deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev avoided almost $80 million in taxes on aviation fuel sold to Manas base, which acts as a key refueling point for warplanes flying over Afghanistan and a major hub for combat troop movement.
Clarifying the procedure of how fuel is purchased would help eliminate speculation about activities at the base, White House official Michael McFaul told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the Kazakh capital, Astana.
The U.S. hold on the base came under threat again last month after Bakiyev was ousted in a violent uprising and a provisional government took charge. The interim government has the right to ratify intergovernmental agreements until the parliamentary elections in the country.
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